Kuzma Petrovich Podlas (1893 – 25 May 1942) was a Soviet Lieutenant-General who was killed in action in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

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In Russian Civil War

Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...

, Podlas was a kombrig (Brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

 commander)) in the Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

. After the war, he graduated from Vystrel courses (1925) and Frunze Academy (1930).

In 1935, he was promoted to the rank of komdiv (Division commander)

In 1938, Podlas was appointed deputy commander of Kiev Special Military District; shortly thereafter he was appointed commander of the 1st (Coastal) Army of the Far Eastern Military District which took part in Battle of Lake Khasan

Battle of Lake Khasan

The Battle of Lake Khasan and also known as the Changkufeng Incident in China and Japan, was an attempted military incursion of Manchukuo into the territory claimed by the Soviet Union...

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Shortly thereafter he was arrested and sentenced to 5-year imprisonment . However, in 1940 he was released among a few other general officers such as Gorbatov

Gorbatov

Gorbatov is a town in Pavlovsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Oka River in the Meshchera Lowlands. Population:...

 and Rokossovsky and reinstated in his previous position. Following adoption of General ranks in the Red Army, he was created Major General.

In August 1941, he took command of the 40th Army

40th Army (Soviet Union)

The 40th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was an army-level command active from 1941 to 1945 and then again from 1979 to circa 1990.It was first formed, after Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, had commenced, from elements of the 26th and 37th Armies under the command...

, which was trying to stop the advance of Guderian

Guderian

Guderian may refer to:People with the surname Guderian:*Heinz Guderian, a military theorist and innovative General of the German Army during the Second World War....

's 2nd Panzer Group to Moscow. After that, he was promoted to Lieutenant General.

In February 1942, Podlas was given command of the 57th Army. He was killed in action in the Kharkov Counteroffensive

Second Battle of Kharkov

The Second Battle of Kharkov, so named by Wilhelm Keitel, was an Axis counter-offensive against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted from 12 May to 28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front during World War II. Its objective was to eliminate the Izium bridgehead over Seversky Donets, or the...

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General Podlas is mentioned in Khruschev's Secret Speech as one of the military commanders who were wrongly accused during Stalin's Great Purge

Great Purge

The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...

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